In the process of fighting fires in rural areas, it is often necessary to obtain water from a non-pressurized source, such as a stream, river, or pond. For this purpose, a fire truck normally carries several lengths of non-collapsible suction hose, used to draw water from the source to the pump.
Because this hose is non-collapsible, it is difficult to store a significant length of this hose on the fire truck. Typically, the amount of hose stored is no more than twenty to thirty feet. This limitation is a particular problem when the truck cannot closely approach the source of the water, for example, when the area has received rain recently and there is no stable ground within twenty to thirty feet of the water source. Alternatively, when the weather is below freezing, it may not be possible to position the engine close enough to the water source, yet off of the ice, to reach water that is deep enough to pump. In these cases, a more distant water source must be used.